A good night tale
by Huusina
Summary: While Komui suffers from sleeplessness, Lenalee tells him stories every night, to help. One of her stories just begins, involving her, her friends, parallel universes and many many more...
1. She's leaving home

**_Hello! Here is the last (and, personally, my favourite) part of Huusina's Week of Uploads! It was really cool to write this story and I hope you will like it too. Might be a little weird and crazy, but it's just me :)_**

**_Have fun reading and review please!_**

* * *

_1. She's leaving home_

The more Lenalee Lee could help other people, the happier she was. She was such kind of person. Among exorcists she was busy all the time and, in fact, that was exactly what she needed in her life.

This and her brother Komui. Lenalee would never change him for someone else. He always cared for her, but this time, roles switched.

Lately Komui has suffered from insomnia. Every night Lenalee was coming to his room to tell him tales or sing lullabies, and Komui always repeated that it helped him a lot, even when it didn't. The most important thing was that Lenalee wanted to help.

Usually Allen was coming with her. He was always joyful and had big creativity, and both Lenalee and Komui loved his company.

Unluckily, Allen was on a mission in eastern Europe and it was another night that Lenalee visited her brother alone.

"How are you?" Lenalee asked as she walked into the room.

Komui smiled.

"Good. I just can't wait for the story."

As always, Lenalee sat on his bed.

"I was trying to think of something different" she admitted. "But I'm not sure..."

"I bet it's great. Please start."

After a while of hesitation, Lenalee nodded and took a deep breath.

* * *

Not so long ago and not so far away there was an exorcist called Lenalee Lee. She was always happy and kind and helped other people a lot.

That day Lenalee was cleaning the forgotten and not used part of the castle in which the exorcists lived. There was nobody around, so the place was completely quiet. That let the girl wonder freely about everything.

Not much time passed when she noticed an open door at the end of the corridor she walked in. What was unexpected was the bright light from it, while Lenalee knew nobody was there.

Then it was understood she reached the door.

And the moment she stepped in it she knew something changed.

She went through the door and looked around, to discover that she wasn't in another room, but in a completely different place. Lenalee found herself in open space, with green grass and blue sky all around her. There were no flowers or trees, just the grass, and no one to tell what was going on.

Lenalee stepped back. That was impossible. Unimaginable. It was... She turned quickly, only to find out that the door disappeared.

She froze.

It must have been a dream. The grass was everywhere, nothing else to the horizon. She was standing there, alone, and this new situation she couldn't understand scared her.

She sat on the grass and noticed that her exorcist uniform was replaced with a sweet light blue dress to knees.

_What is it now, "Alice in Wonderland"?_, Lenalee thought, looking dispassionately ahead.

In fact, inside Lenalee everything was burning. It wasn't logical, it couldn't happen.

Or maybe it was somebody with innocence.

Lenalee rapidly stood up.

Innocence. There was no other explanation.

Lenalee started walking. Although she couldn't see anything but grass, she decided she wouldn't stop until she finds another human to explain this situation.

When she "left" the castle, it was eight in the morning, and it seemed to be that early here too. It made the walk easier, as it wasn't too hot. The weather was perfect.

After about half an hour Lenalee saw a village. It was really small, just a few wooden houses and a tavern. The village was rather dark and seemed to be abandoned some time ago. Lenalee walked around the houses, among the garbage, calling anybody to come out. Quite disappointed, she stepped in the tavern.

The whole place was covered with dust, but what caught Lenalee's attention was a breakfast laying on the table. It was almost untouched, and, strangely, fresh, although it was obvious that the village was left about few days ago.

Lenalee started looking around more carefully, full of suspicions.

Suddenly, she heard a loud thud and something hit her in the back of her head and then the floor. She quickly turned around to find out what was the annoying object.

In front of her, from dust and dirt, a human rose from the floor. It was a guy that looked rather strange at the first glance.

He had white hair and grey eyes, and there was a long scar on the left side of his face. His clothes were weird too. He had a black uniform on, a black wrap-up and a black high-hat with some kind of wand stuck behind it. The wand was a simple stick with a star on the top, a very childish idea of that item. This, let's say, magician, seemed to be around Lenalee's age.

He shook the dust off himself and straightened up. As fast as he noticed Lenalee he looked directly at her and smiled friendly. She then noticed that despite his weird looks, the boy was handsome.

"Hello" he said and shook Lenalee's hand energetically, surprising her a little. "My name's Allen Walker, I'm a wizard. Nice to meet you..."

"Lenalee Lee" she replied, returning his smile. All her cautiousness flew away, meeting disarming friendliness of this Allen.

"Lenalee Lee then" he said and let go of her hand. He looked up and Lenalee did the same, to see a huge hole in the ceiling. "I'm really sorry for that, not a good entrance, was it?"

Lenalee looked away and remained silent.

"I thought you came for my master's debts, so I hid up there" Allen continued. "I told Barney long time ago that he should renovate this place."

He smiled again, but this time in apologizing way. Lenalee sighed.

"I'm afraid I don't understand a word from your explanation" she said.

"Huh?" Allen glanced at her surprised, but after a while he blushed slightly, noticing that Lenalee was right. "Ah, yes, sorry!"

He quickly offered her a chair in, as he said, Barney's tavern. Then he put probably his breakfast on another table and sat next to Lenalee.

"You see, I'm travelling around the world with my master, amazing wizard Marian Cross, who taught me everything about magic I know now. He's truly amazing, but... he likes hazard and that causes a lot of trouble to us two. About a week ago we came to this village. Inhabitants were really happy to see us and soon we found out why.

It turned out that some bandits were haunting the village for some time, taking everything precious from the people, who were already quite poor. They also said they'd come back and the arrival was said to be the next day. The villagers hoped we'd help them and my master promised to do so, saying that he already had a plan.

The next morning the bandits came, I and Cross greeted them with all villagers behind us. To my horror, my master stated he would win with the bandits in cards. He put whole village on one side and promise not to haunt it ever again on the other side. Of course he lost everything.

The bandits turned a lively village to what you saw and left, laughing loudly on the way. Inhabitants were furious, but, as always, before anyone noticed it, my master mysteriously disappeared. Lacking the guilty one, inhabitants turned to the closest to him, what means me. I hardly escaped. Villagers are now looking for me in other villages, and I came back here, thinking they won't search where it all started."

Allen leaned back in his chair, finishing his story.

"That's why I was hiding in a village like this."

He smiled. Lenalee, who was listening with interest, noticed that he was smiling quite often, despite his difficult situation. Now, when he stopped talking, all questions about _her_ situation appeared in her head again.

"Oh, Allen-kun" she said when the questions popped out. "Can I ask you about something?"

His childishly innocent face turned to her and, at the same time, they both heard loud noise and rapidly stood up. It sounded like a running crowd of people, and Allen and Lenalee immediately knew who they were.

"We know you're here, Walker! We'll get you!"

Hearing similar shouts, Allen's face fell. To Lenalee's surprise, he grabbed her hand and pulled her outside.

"I'll answer your questions later" he said, but at the same moment people from the village noticed them.

"There you are!"

"Catch him!"

The crowd was closer with every second and the only thought in Lenalee's head was that she and Allen should have stayed in the tavern, or at least not go out in front of the enemy. She tried to make Allen run, but he only took his wand out and waved it before faces of inhabitants of the village, who were already dangerously near.

"Eins, zwei, drei!" Allen almost sang and in front of him a big, beautiful, black horse appeared.

In seconds, before anyone could understand what had happened, Allen put Lenalee on the horse, with one graceful jump sat behind her and they were racing through the green grass Lenalee remembered from before. She could still hear the villagers screams, but they were already too far, they were too slow for this incredibly fast horse. Suddenly, Lenalee heard a laugh. Loudly, joyfully Allen was laughing.

"The taste of freedom!" he screamed as loud as he could when he finished. Lenalee turned to him. "You can ask now, I'm all yours."

She looked back on the way ahead, thinking.

"What was that?" she asked finally. "I mean, the horse..."

"A German spell" Allen immediately replied. "German spells are the summoning ones. There are as many spells as languages and every one has different magical power. German spells are my favourite and I use them all the time."

His words reminded Lenalee of the spell he used, which in fact was in German. She decided to go on to the matter that intrigued her the most.

"What place is it?"

Allen looked at her in a weird way, but Lenalee couldn't see it.

"One of parallel universes" he said simply.

Lenalee rapidly turned to him.

"What do you mean?"

Allen's face brightened at her reaction as he understood the situation.

"You got here by accident, am I right?" hearing this question, Lenalee quickly nodded, inquiring further explanation. "In the world you're coming from are some, let's say, special doors that lead to the web of parallel universes. There are plenty of them and now we're in one. You can travel from one to another through door as well."

"But you're not from my world, are you?" Lenalee asked. Allen shook his head.

"Most of people and creatures in parallel universes are from them, me too. It doesn't happen often, visit of a human from your world. But when they finally come, they can't leave unless their one wish comes true."

"That's very nice of you" Lenalee smiled.

"Sometimes it lasts years" Allen replied with a sigh. "Sometimes people don't manage to do it before their time comes. It's not always that nice."

During their talk the landscape around changed. Large, empty space was replaced with a green, refreshing forest. Its special smell was everywhere, just like the enchanting aura of freshness and life. Omnipresent silence ended with first voices of various birds.

"Lenalee" continued Allen, "you will have to pick a wish."

He stopped the horse, jumped down and helped Lenalee to do so and then let the animal go.

"Why did you do that?" she asked.

"You can never tell to which universe you'll go, even if you go through the same door as before" Allen explained and started walking. "If I remember correctly, we should find one in minutes."

Lenalee moved too. She was very confused after all that already happened. This new situation started scaring her again, just like at the beginning.

"You'll probably visit many universes" Allen stated suddenly and Lenalee looked at him. "If you don't mind, I can go with you. I mean, I should look for my master after all. Besides, you don't know this world and it can be rather dangerous to go alone. I wouldn't feel right if I let you go alone" he smiled. "Or maybe you find me annoying?"

"No, no, quite the opposite!" Lenalee replied immediately, making Allen laugh. "I'd really appreciate it if you went with me."

Allen stopped and outstretched his right hand towards her.

"Deal?"

Lenalee took his hand.

"Deal."

Allen let go of her hand and looked at his new companion seriously.

"Now the wish."

Lenalee smiled at his serious face, a weight was already lifted from her heart and she believed that everything would go right.

"This situation is so incredible" she laughed. "I can as well look for my _prince_."

Allen laughed at this idea too. He turned left and flicked the branches of an old tree, revealing a wooden door.

"Goal set! Let's go!" he shouted, scaring some birds and opened the door. He smiled at Lenalee. "Ladies first."

She confidently crossed the doorstep. Allen followed her and closed the door, which disappeared among the big, old branches.


	2. Here, there and everywhere

**_Hello everybody! Here comes second chapter of "A good night tale"! I didn't think I'll write it that fast, it's still August!_**

_**Well, first of all big thank you to everybody who read this to the end :) Especially when they left something behind them, like a fave, follow or a review! It's always appreciated! Nice to hear I did something fresh and a little different.**_

_**One thing I'd like to point out are the tiltles of chapters. It's always a title of The Beatles' song, it's my favourite band and always inspires me to write a lot! I recommend every song that will show up, but when I choose a song, I go totally by title, so lyrics won't always fit the chapter, it's the role of a title :)**_

_**Have fun reading this and review :)**_

* * *

_2. Here, there and everywhere_

"I can't believe we're in a place like this" Allen sighed, looking around. Lenalee remained silent; she was the last person to comment the situation.

Inside, she repeated her companion's words.

She remembered well the shock after they stepped out the door. There was absolutely nothing but cracked, dark ground. And not much to add to this description. Some rocks could be seen, from time to time...

Allen sighed again, but this time more loudly and heavily.

"Aargh!" he whined in despair. "I so hate this place!"

Lenalee turned to him, suddenly interested.

"Have you been here before?" she asked, grabbing his arm. The young wizard turned to her with a serious expression on his face.

"Yes" he replied and Lenalee let go of his hand. "In whole this world there's only one door. However, it's not that easy to get access to it, since there's..." Allen patted his cheek with one finger, "a guard."

Lenalee tilted her head, question in her shining eyes.

"A guard?"

"Mhm" Allen nodded with a weak smile. "To go through the door, one has to do something for her, and you never know what she'll ask for."

"Oh" Lenalee tried to think what favours the guard could ask in such place, but nothing came to her mind.

"Well, we'd better find her quickly" Allen brought her back to reality. "This world isn't very human-friendly."

She couldn't disagree with that. They didn't really know in which direction to go, so they simply moved ahead, hoping that they would be lucky and find the guard sooner or later. Monotonous landscape reminded Lenalee of the world she's been to before, yet she liked the previous one far more than this.

They were walking and walking, and what struck the girl was the fact that Allen wasn't talking. Not that she knew him well, she just somehow _expected_ him to. Still, he was silent and that let Lenalee finally settle everything in her head. Since she met Allen she didn't have much time for thinking and after all that happened she needed it badly. Firstly, whole this situation was crazy, like a dream. It was unimaginable, however, the more times she pinched her arm, the more sure she was that she actually ended up in "web of parallel universes", as Allen called it. Exactly, Allen, the next point. He was quite a mystery. That is, Lenalee didn't really know what to think about him. He was joyful, friendly and easy-going, and he had a mysterious power to make her follow him without a word of objection. She trusted in everything he said, suggested or did. Simply that. She was constantly admonishing herself that she should be cautious since he was just a stranger, what's more, from a completely different world. He could as well lead her to the guard as a dinner, for example.

Still, only one gleeful smile of him was enough for her to believe the strange wizard again.

Another thing that worried her was her wish. _Her prince_. What was she thinking about when she came up with that? Honestly speaking, it was the moment all her worries went away, replaced with confidence that everything will go the best way it can. Call it spur of the moment. Now, the perspective of looking for love in _such_ place scared her, not to mention how long it could take. She was doomed.

She sighed and it caught Allen's attention.

"Impatient, huh?" he said, his smile made it clear he didn't want to offend her. "Don't worry, we're lucky. We're almost there."

"Really?" Lenalee all brightened. Allen smiled again and led her further.

The thought of reaching their destination soon pushed Lenalee's not to happy thoughts away. Although she was a bit worried about the guard, meeting her meant being one step closer to leaving the empty world.

A couple of minutes later she could tell that Allen was right.

Before their eyes a large stone platform appeared. Stairs made of the same rock led to the top. There stood the door. Big and bright pink, it looked amazingly awkward. With one closer look Lenalee could tell the door was almost completely covered with drawings, some of them showing a very simplistic Allen.

She looked quizzically at her companion.

"Drawings, right?" he responded to her glare weakly. "Debts. Sometimes, if you really can't _pay_ her, she lets you go on credit. She draws those people to remember to make them pay back next time."

She saw in his eyes that he hoped there will be no more questions from her. Not this time, Allen. She was too curious.

"You're there."

His eyes said, "I knew you'd notice and I prayed you wouldn't".

"I don't know how this happens, but I'm here quite often" he admitted finally. "And quite often, I go for free. The reason why she still allows me is that she likes me" he sighed. "In fact, I hope it'll work this time, too."

"How long are you going to stand there, talking?" Lenalee and Allen heard a loud question. "You want to go through my door, don't you?"

Only this moment Lenalee noticed the person sitting on the top stair, looking at her and Allen with slight irritation.

It was a short girl that could be like... eleven? Twelve? It didn't really matter. What was unique about her was her light grey skin. She had dark, spiky hair and yellow eyes. She also had a black dress that made her look a little gothic. The girl was playing with a pen in her hands and seemed to be quite bored. However, when Lenalee and Allen turned to her hearing her voice, a huge grin spread on her face as her gaze shifted to the boy.

"Allen Walker!" she shouted with excitement, giving the wizard all her attention, as if Lenalee wasn't there.

"Road Camelot" Allen said with a fake smile. "You were right, we wanted to go through your door."

He was a bit embarrassed as Road watched him so intensely, tapping the pen on the stairs, but as soon as she heard the word "we", she stopped and slowly turned to Lenalee. The girl noticed that Allen sighed with relief, but quickly looked back at Road, when she suddenly spoke to her.

"You are...?"

"Lenalee Lee" the girl replied kindly with a curtsey.

Road leaned forward, her head in one hand and elbow on a knee. Sound of the pen tapping on the stairs once again rang out all over the place.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to use your door with Allen" Lenalee added calmly.

"Haa?" short girl smiled in a special way, confusing Lenalee. "My door isn't free."

Lenalee twitched and quickly glanced at Allen, who straightened up in shock. He collected himself fast, though, and brought on his face his most charming smile.

"Can't it be free just one more time?" he asked innocently. "For me?"

The guard laughed loudly and looked back at Allen, pretty amused.

"Oh, Allen, you know how I _love_ you" she said sweetly. "But look" she pointed the door, "ten more Allens are here with me."

Lenalee covered her mouth with one hand, trying not to giggle. Road noticed it anyway.

"Besides, your _friend_ is quite a problem" Lenalee immediately turned serious. "I don't know her, what if she never comes back to pay? I give free access to my door to people I know are reliable" Road stated. "You have to do me a favour."

Lenalee looked at Allen, inhaling, preparing to say sorry, but he was faster.

"It's okay, Lenalee, we'll be fine" he said and turned to Road with a sigh of resignation. "What do you need?"

The girl looked away, thinking. After a while she set her narrowed eyes on Allen again.

"Sweets."

"Huh?" Allen and Lenalee glared at the guard in utter disbelief. The boy closed his eyes and took a breath, only to glance up at Road again with a perfect fake smile, showing all his teeth.

"How can we find any sweets here?" he asked as sweetly as she did while refusing him to pass the door on credit.

Road blinked and remained silent. Allen broadened his smile, but the girl looked away.

"How can we find any sweets here?!" Allen cried desperately, throwing his arms in the air.

"Maybe magic...?" Lenalee suggested tentatively, but at the word "magic" the guard rapidly turned to her.

"I can smell it from a mile" she stated. "I accept none."

Lenalee and Allen's faces fell, the task was, let's say, quite difficult. Road already lost interest in them, instead observing clouds above her. Lenalee was still looking at her, hoping to come up with any idea to change the situation, but Allen grabbed her wrist.

"She won't change her mind" he told her. "Let's go."

Lenalee followed him reluctantly, from time to time glancing back at Road. The only sound that remained in the air was constant tapping of the pen.

The guard soon disappeared behind the horizon and Lenalee caught up with Allen. This boy really was strange. While after seeing how he acted when the villagers chased them she expected him to laugh off every word of Road, he surprised her completely, revealing his panicking, desperate self, as well as the resigned one. After a while of her deep thinking, Allen noticed she's been staring at him and smiled.

"Road is pretty difficult to deal with" he said and Lenalee sighed with relief that he interpreted her behaviour like this. "You never know how she'll act. I hoped it would be one of her better days..."

Lenalee sent him a reassuring smile.

"Well, I bet we'll find something."

About three hours later they still haven't found any sweets. Lenalee couldn't estimate the distance they travelled, they were just moving forward and nothing changed around them. They were careful to go in one direction, so that they could simply turn back and go ahead and Road would be there. The thought that they could get lost and not find the door made both Allen and Lenalee shiver.

It got so annoyingly hot, as time passed. Lenalee felt her dress stick to her body, and it wasn't the nicest feeling in the world. She didn't even want to think about Allen and his black clothes.

To her surprise, the mentioned wizard suddenly stopped and turned to her. He looked totally worn out.

"Allen-kun?"

He glanced up at her, sending her an apologetic look.

"This sun is killing me" he whispered huskily, worrying his companion. "Let's go back, please, I'll beg Road on knees."

Lenalee sighed.

"You should have said that earlier, when you started feeling worse" she admonished him and Allen winced.

Lenalee took his hand and started to lead him in Road's direction. She had a strange feeling that he could collapse at any moment. They were slowly heading forward.

"Is your head aching?" Lenalee asked, glancing back at Allen.

"Yes" he replied.

"Is it darkening before your eyes?"

"Yes."

"Do you feel like falling?"

"Yes..."

Lenalee sighed heavily and looked ahead. She just solved the mystery called Allen Walker.

Mentally, he was still a child.

...

The moment she saw the bright pink door, Lenalee felt completely exhausted. She was aware that the last meters are the worst and it was only her strong will that kept her walking. Her mind was set on one goal – get to Road – and right now she didn't hear Allen's mumbles about his master he started about an hour earlier. He definitely wasn't offended by her lack of interest, he was only half-aware of the world around him. This sun...

As Lenalee and Allen got closer to the guard, the girl noticed that Road blocked the sun with an umbrella and her legs suddenly shouted to go faster, hoping that Road would let Lenalee sit under the wonderful tool. Allen couldn't charm out anything in his state, anyway.

Right. Allen. He needed this umbrella more.

Road suddenly noticed them.

"Oh, my dear Allen!" she screamed joyfully. "And...?"

"Lenalee Lee" Lenalee helped kindly, ignoring the fact she had to repeat her name.

Road shrugged it off and looked at Allen in horror.

"What did you do to him?!" she turned to Lenalee. The girl was taken aback by her accusations.

"Nothing, I just told him I was too young for hazard and he left me in the town, stupid master" Allen murmured, trying to stand steadily. Lenalee kept him in place to prevent a fall.

"He's like that because of the sun" she explained. "Can he sit under your umbrella?"

"I was just about to suggest that" Road hissed and after a while of struggling with Allen's numb body, he was finally set in shadow. In a glimmer of goodness Road found also place for Lenalee.

For Allen it was like salvation. In a blink of an eye he was back to his usual self, making both girls sigh with relief.

Their happiness didn't last long, though, since the guard hadn't forgotten about the deal.

"My sweets" the little girl said simply, outstretching her hand emphatically.

Lenalee and Allen humbly put their heads down.

"We don't have any."

Road leaned back, obviously disappointed. Allen was the first to lift his head and dare to look at her as he shoved one hand in a pocket of his trousers.

"Please instead accept this" he said with a huge grin on his face. "I've saved these coins for a rainy day, but-" Allen suddenly stopped and blushed.

Road and Lenalee looked at him questioningly. Allen was getting redder with every second.

"I... um..." he muttered, observed by the two girls. After a while, he took a deep breath and in one quick move he put his hand out of the pocket and outstretched it for the world to see. "Lenalee, please don't kill me!"

Lenalee's eyebrow twitched.

Allen looked at her tentatively, completely embarrassed.

Road started laughing hysterically, seeing three round, yellow _candies_ in rustling papers.

"I totally forgot about them, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" Allen stared at Lenalee, apologizing all the time, and although at first she was burning with anger, Lenalee could do nothing else but smile at his worried face.

"I guess the sun already served you right" she said and her smile grew even wider as Allen's face brightened.

Lenalee took the candies from Allen and gave them to Road, who, not able to stop laughing, simply pointed the door, rolling all over the platform.

Both Lenalee and Allen bowed to the guard with a kind "goodbye", but Road just kept on laughing, so companions went through the door without a proper answer from her.

As soon as the pink door disappeared, Lenalee knew that this world was the best so far.

First of all, it was colourful. In whichever direction you looked, you could see beautiful orchards with different fruit trees, fields full of various cereals and vegetables, not to mention gardens with all sorts of fruits and flowers. Second thing that made the place so amazing was life. Various birds were flying everywhere singing their usual songs, also hum of bees could be heard everywhere. Lenalee spotted some butterflies too, and although she couldn't see anything else, she somehow knew that far more creatures lived in this land.

She started at all that in awe, now fully realizing how hungry she was.

Suddenly, she felt someone grab her hand and, knowing it was Allen, she let him lead her wherever he wanted.

"Here, here! Apples!" he shouted, informing Lenalee that he thought of the same thing she did.

They quickly approached apple trees, and without a single thought Allen picked two ripe, delicious looking apples. He handed one to Lenalee, taking a bite of the other.

"Can we?" she asked, wondering if it was somebody's property.

"Sure" Allen laughed. "I always eat when I'm here."

Hearing his words, Lenalee smiled and took the offered apple.

"Thanks."

"Mmf" was all Allen said, already absorbed by eating everything edible in his sight.

Lenalee laughed at the scene, but suddenly something else caught her attention. She narrowed her eyes.

"Did you hear that?" she asked, turning to where she heard the sound from.

Allen looked at her.

"Hear what?"

Lenalee tilted her head to one side.

"I guess... it's a song."

Then Allen heard it too.


	3. Octopus's garden

**_Welcome back! ...after like 4 months. I'm really sorry._**

**_To make up for the long wait, I wrote the longest chapter in my life :) I hope you'll enjoy. ...and that 2013 started nice for you all :) R&R, pretty please? Have fun reading!_**

* * *

_3. Octopus's garden_

Allen and Lenalee pricked up their ears to make out words. With every passing second the song got louder, so whatever was emitting it must have been getting closer to the two.

Lenalee narrowed her eyes.

"It's in a different language" she said. She noticed that Allen flinched and started to listen even more carefully.

However, soon they could hear everything clearly without much effort. Within seconds the song grew louder and could be heard everywhere.

It was calm, like a lullaby, with no music, just words. The voice singing the omnipresent song was soothing and although Lenalee didn't understand a word, she quickly found herself completely enchanted by the melody.

_...Bez rączek, bez rączek, la la la la…_

She was curious. Who could sing so beautifully? She thought that maybe Allen would know, since he said he'd been there several times.

_...Bez rączek, bez rączek, la la la la…_

Lenalee turned her head to her friend, but, conversely to her expectations, his face portrayed utter horror.

"A-Allen-kun?" she asked tentatively, looking in his wide open eyes.

He gulped.

"It's the guard."

Lenalee shifted her gaze in the direction that Allen was looking. She saw a giant steel machine. It looked like a strange rabbit and seemed to be emitting the beautiful song. The rabbit was moving towards her and Allen, outstretching its thick arms, preparing to catch them.

Lenalee looked nervously at Allen.

"You said we _can_ eat!"

_...Bez rączek, bez rączek, la la la la…_

The wizard gritted his teeth.

"I've seen him many times, but he was always turned off!" he was constantly staring at the robot. "Well, whatever. He's singing a spell" Lenalee twitched, "so cover your ears."

The girl decided to follow the order quickly, but as soon as her mind told her body to move, she froze, shocked, and an unpleasant shiver went down her spine. Lenalee was looking at the rabbit wide-eyed and started to breathe quickly in a sudden wave of panic.

She couldn't move her arms.

_Cover your ears_, the words kept replaying in her head, but she didn't care about it anymore, she just wanted to move her arms at all. The rabbit was coming closer, ready to catch them and all she could do was to stare at it.

The song was definitely not that beautiful anymore.

Lenalee noticed that the giant was _really _close. She almost stopped breathing, knowing all too well what was going to happen.

However, instead of feeling a hit, she only heard it and the song stopped as a dark, lone figure jumped on the robot suddenly and the voice broke horribly.

Lenalee felt somehow that she could move her hands again, but at the moment she was more curious about her and Allen's saviour. She immediately turned to her companion, who looked as puzzled as she was.

They didn't have much time, however, because the rabbit was already recollecting itself. The mysterious hero in a matter of seconds appeared between Allen and Lenalee, firmly grabbed their wrists and ran ahead, leading them along.

"Hurry up!" was all he said, and neither Allen nor Lenalee felt like objecting.

They followed the saviour, running as fast as they could to get away before the rabbit played the song again. And although Lenalee wanted to see who saved her, she had to concentrate more on the way ahead. She couldn't allow herself to trip in such situation.

She didn't even notice when they went through a door, although it wasn't usual to see one in the middle of a field.

She noticed that the world changed, though.

It was a modern metropolis. Lenalee found herself among huge skyscrapers she's never seen before and so many people that she couldn't even imagine living there. What struck her most, though, was that although it was night there, it was bright. There were shining signs and screens everywhere and she just couldn't understand how it was possible.

She sent one quick and unsure glance towards Allen, but he didn't seem to be startled at all.

The "hero" suddenly turned left and she had to do it too. Soon she realised they went into one of side streets.

They all immediately leaned on a wall of the nearest building, exhausted after the run. They weren't saying anything in a while, just breathing heavily and waiting for their legs to stop trembling.

Lenalee looked to her left, where her saviour was standing. Allen did the same and in light of a lamppost they could finally see the hero.

The being before their eyes was indeed unique. Lenalee couldn't really tell if he (because it turned out so) was human or not. Honestly speaking, all she could see was a big, bright orange carrot with legs, arms and a smiling face. To make the mysterious vegetable-like being even more weird, the "carrot's" right eye was covered with an eyepatch, the other was green and shining with excitement.

To the girl's surprise, as soon as Allen's eyes landed on the vegetable, they lit up and the wizard smiled widely. The other seemed to recognize Allen as well.

"Allen!"

"Lavi!"

With the joyful smile still present on his lips, Allen immediately turned to Lenalee and gently pulled her closer to him and the so-called Lavi. Lenalee noticed that the carrot's smile grew wider as he friendly outstretched his hand.

"My name's Lavi, it's nice to meet you."

Lenalee smiled back and took his hand, mentally telling herself not to ask _what_ he was.

"I'm Lenalee" she replied finally.

Lavi then turned to Allen and they spoke for a while about things that she didn't understand. They seemed to be pretty good friends and that they haven't seen each other in a while.

After a couple of minutes carrot's attention turned back to Lenalee.

"There must be something special about you, Lenalee-chan" he spoke to her suddenly and she almost jumped, as she haven't been paying attention to the two for quite some time now. He only laughed at her reaction. "You know, Allen never travels with normal people."

Lenalee looked at Allen puzzled and a bit offended. The wizard blushed, embarrassed, and glared at the carrot-boy.

"It didn't sound nice, you know" he said and Lenalee next to him nodded. Lavi smiled goofily. "I travel with her because she's human."

And he presented a proud face.

"Human _human_" he added, emphasizing the word.

Lavi blinked and looked at Lenalee once again with his freshly gained knowledge. His eye went wide.

"Oooh" ha said in awe. "It's first time I see a human. I mean, human _human_."

Lenalee didn't know how to respond to this, so she just stood there looking down at her feet, between a carrot and a wizard overreacting the fact that she was a human. She was wondering whether walking and talking vegetables were _normal_ in this world.

"Anyway" Allen said, breaking the silence, as if answering Lenalee's desperate prayers. "How is it possible that the guard was turned on? You always make sure that he's not."

Lavi winced as soon as he heard pretension in Allen's voice.

"It's not my fault, really" he whined, but after a while corrected himself. "I mean, it is, but... You know that the Landlord hired me to take care of gardens and fields, thus, to make sure the robot works." Allen nodded. "And you know that for people like you, I always made sure he was not. I've got a soft heart, you know." Another nod. "So, the Landlord found out, got angry and hired someone else."

Allen looked down, suddenly feeling guilty for his irritation from before.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

"It's okay" Lavi cut in, waving his hands in front of his friend's face. "Nothing happened."

Soon, the vegetable and the wizard started apologizing to each other, each trying to be more sorry and more guilty. Lenalee was just standing there, wondering about the point of being there for yet another time. After a moment she realised that the boys in front of her weren't going to end their competition quickly, so she decided to break the vicious circle.

"I have a question!" she shouted as loud as she could. Some people walking along the main street turned their heads in her direction, but in the end ignored her. However, Lenalee succeeded in drawing attention of Lavi and Allen.

"What question?" they asked together.

Lenalee tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"What spell was that? The one the rabbit machine sang?"

Allen made a that's-a-good-question face, Lavi next to him nodded approvingly.

"Do you remember what I told you about spells? That there are many and each works differently?" Allen asked and Lenalee confirmed that she remembered. "The spell from before was a Polish one. Polish spells activate or deactivate things, for example... the spell we heard. It meant _without arms_, repeated all the time. The phrase _without arms_ deactivated our arms, we couldn't move them. If the robot sang _with arms_, beings that normally don't use arms would use them. I just wish I had understood the spell earlier..." he finished sadly.

"Oh" Lenalee managed to say, finally understanding what had happened to her before.

Then, another question appeared in her mind.

"What place is it?"

Without a word, Allen took Lenalee's hand and led her back to the main street, with Lavi following quietly. Colourful lights hit her eyes again as all three mingled with the crowd of people in front of them. Lenalee instinctively found carrot's hand and took it in her own, scared that any of them could get lost. She still couldn't believe how she could acknowledge them as trustworthy companions she should care about so easily.

In what seemed like eternity they moved few meters forward and found themselves on a square, surrounded by various high buildings full of shops and companies with all their customers and businessmen.

Lenalee was confused as never before, not knowing where to land her eyes. Everything was so new, so unfamiliar, so different from her own world. Allen only smiled, noticing her dazed gaze and leaned closer to her. He gently put his arm around Lenalee's waist, careful not to startle the girl, and followed her gaze.

"This is what they call a _modern city_" he said quietly.

Lenalee just nodded, too absorbed in the strange, but fascinating world around her. People, not caring about anything but what they had to do, kept pushing and prodding them, but the girl didn't seem to notice.

Allen looked back at Lavi, and when the other nodded, he let go of Lenalee's waist and took her arm in arm. On the other side, the vegetable boy took his hand out of her grasp and did the same.

"We have to go" the wizard explained, showing her an innocent face, as he noticed a protest forming on the girl's features.

Allen and Lavi started leading her through the city. She didn't even struggle; in the end, she still could observe the new place. Quite soon she noticed that the three of them didn't really look outstanding – sure, most of the people looked normal, but among them Lenalee spotted many weird creatures, probably wandering around the worlds like she was.

On the way she half-heartedly listened to Lavi's explanation as to where they were going.

"In this world there's a door I need to use, it leads to a world where a friend of mine is, you know" he spoke quickly, as if they were in a hurry. "There's a so called zoo ran by Mr Octopus. Honestly, I think he's a real octopus, but man, he hides it well. What you need to know is that he's a collector, a scientist. He collects unique creatures from all parallel universes and keeps them closed. He's mad, really. The thing is..." he stopped as they reached a small cafe among tall skyscrapers. The sign at the door informed that it was closed. "He caught my friend and I must save him."

Lenalee, who _was_ listening, just didn't pay much attention to the actual meaning, flinched at the word "caught". She turned to Lavi, only now the story sinking into her mind. The carrot looked so... broken. Her caring self immediately took over at the sight and she gently placed her hand on Lavi's shoulder.

"We _will_ save him" she said with a smile, and the boy answered her with the same expression.

Without any more words Allen opened the door to the cafe and all three entered yet another world.

It suddenly got darker – there was night too, but there were almost no lights, unlike in the city from before. Only a couple of lanterns was illuminating the place. From what Lenalee could see she assumed that they were standing in front of the zoo Lavi talked earlier about. She could see a tall wall and a huge, iron gate with a big sign at the top. However, she couldn't make out what it was saying; the lights didn't reach that far. She turned to the right and to the left, but she couldn't tell exactly how big the zoo was – big enough for its walls to wane in the dark.

Lenalee followed her companions to the wall and realised how chilly the night was. _I wish I had my exorcist uniform_, she thought.

While she was lost in thought, Allen charmed out a rope and he and Lavi already flipped it over the wall, successfully hooking it on something on the other side.

Somehow, with much effort, all three managed to get inside the zoo. They were careful not to cause too much noise and not to talk without a reason, as they didn't want anybody to know about their presence and, what's worse, they didn't know where Mr Octopus resided.

"Do you have any idea where your friend is?" Lenalee asked quietly as they started weaving among narrow alleys.

Lavi didn't respond at once.

"Night is young" he said finally and Lenalee knew he had no clue where they were going.

With new doubts clouding in her head she followed Allen and Lavi further into the zoo. They were passing numerous cages and enclosures, each with a sleeping creature inside. Lenalee had to admit that the place was scary, but fascinating at the same time, she could see creatures she would never even imagine. Unicorns, dwarfs, kappas, even a dragon – they all were there, fenced off from her just by bars. However, the longer she was walking in the zoo, the more she realised that conditions in which the creatures were kept left much to be desired.

Her mood was going down with every cage she was passing, when suddenly she noticed an empty one. Interested, she walked closer to read the sign with the name of the creature supposed to be in. Her heart skipped a beat as she read.

Human _human_.

Someone like her.

Lenalee immediately ran to the cage to grab the bars and look inside to see if the cage was really empty.

"Lenalee, don't!" she heard Allen shout, but it was too late.

The moment her hands touched the iron, deafening sirens started to howl everywhere. Taken aback, she moved away, but there was nothing she could do. Scared, she turned to Allen and Lavi.

"I'm so sorry" she stuttered, but the wizard didn't let her continue.

"I should have warned you" he said. "Touching any cage activates the alarm" he explained and, seeing that Lenalee was still worried and ashamed, he smiled slightly and added, "it's not your fault, really. Rather mine."

Lenalee responded to this with an uncertain smile, but Lavi only rolled his eyes.

"We have to run!"

The wizard nodded as a reply. The carrot dashed in the alley and Allen, taking Lenalee's hand, sprinted in the same direction. She almost tripped, but managed to run further with Allen. She wanted to ask him what had happened, but he answered without hearing the question.

"Mr Octopus found us."

They were running in silence, with only their footsteps being heard. After a while Lenalee realised that, actually, she could hear _four_ pairs of feet tapping on the pavement; earlier it was hard to tell because of the loud sirens.

She ventured a glance backwards. A man was chasing them. He was abnormally tall, about three meters. He was bald and his face showed anger as he ran after the intruders. He was also wearing a long, gold, shiny coat that made him pretty visible in the dark.

Lenalee decided to concentrate on the road. She had to admit it: she was scared. She didn't know the place and the man behind didn't look like any sort of a nice person too.

Suddenly, Lavi screamed.

"I found him!"

Half relieved, half afraid, Lenalee and Allen sped up. By the time they got to their friend, they heard sirens all over again, meaning that he already started fighting with the cage.

Finally, Lenalee could see who they were risking so much for.

Behind the bars, struggling with iron, was a _panda_. It was relatively small and had a face of an old man, but it was definitely a panda. It came as no surprise to Lenalee. She felt that a walking carrot wouldn't know anything less weird than it itself.

Without questions about Lavi's friend, the girl looked nervously at Allen, her eyes clearly showing concern. They didn't have much time before Mr Octopus would appear.

The wizard squeezed her hand reassuringly before he let go of it.

"Eins, zwei, drei" he said, waving his wand and a heavy, silver key appeared in his hand. Allen gave it to Lenalee. "Open the cage with this, I'll stop Mr Octopus."

He then turned away in the direction of his opponent, his back facing Lenalee. Not wanting to waste time, the girl quickly approached Lavi and his friend. While the panda glanced at her suspiciously, the carrot's face lit up at the sight of a familiar person.

"Allen-kun charmed out this" Lenalee said, handing him the key. A wide smile appeared on Lavi's face as he took it from her and opened the cage.

"That's the Allen I know" he laughed. "Thanks, Lenalee-chan."

The girl smiled in response and with Lavi she helped the panda get out of the cage. As soon as the animal stepped between the two of them, he bowed.

"Thank you, Lavi and his friend" he said and straightened up, turning to Lenalee, the suspiciousness from before all gone. "It is nice to meet you. I am Bookman."

The name surprised Lenalee, nevertheless she bowed lightly with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you too. My name's Lenalee."

However, their pleasantries were interrupted suddenly when Allen almost ran into them. He stopped merely centimetres from them and his face was incredibly pale.

"Hello Bookman" he greeted the older quickly and glanced back before continuing. "I'm sorry, I think I just made him more angry, but I swear I didn't mean to! The thing is, we have to run away, because-"

A loud thud from the direction he came from interrupted him and everybody looked there. Soon they understood what the wizard wanted to say. It seemed that the rumours Lavi mentioned earlier were true and now Mr Octopus decided to resign from his disguise. In the direction of the four companions a giant, purple octopus was coming. It was hard to tell what was its size – it was towering above the cages and its tentacles were writhing everywhere. Mr Octopus was emitting some weird sounds and though it was impossible to make out what he was saying, it was clear that he was furious.

And, despite its size and form, he was fast.

Lenalee, Allen, Lavi and Bookman dashed in the nearest alley as fast as they could. The wizard was leading them, if you could call it leading at all, since he didn't have the slightest idea about where they were and where the exit was. All they cared about was to get away from the zoo owner that was chasing them, leaving the zoo was on the second place.

Lenalee didn't know for how long they had been running, but for her it seemed like hours. She was exhausted and only her fear kept her body moving; the others felt like this too. With horror she noticed that Mr Octopus started to get closer to the four.

"Allen-kun!" she shouted in despair, trying to draw his attention to the approaching danger.

What surprised her was Allen's cheery reply.

"We're near!" he screamed, pointing forward.

Then she and the rest noticed what the wizard saw too.

The gate.

Somehow they managed to increase their pace and all their worries gave place to relief. They knew that once they got there, they would be safe, as Mr Octopus couldn't get through the gate in his current form and by the time he changes back, they would already reach the door.

Finally, they passed the gate, causing the octopus to screech with frustration and Allen and Lavi to scream at the top of their lungs with victory.

When they got to the door that led them to this world, all their exhaustion came back twofold. They leaned on the wood and rested for a while, the knowledge that they were already safe sinking into their minds. After a while, Bookman turned to them once again with a bow.

"Thank you all" he said and they looked at him fully concentrated as they heard all mixed emotions in his voice. "I owe you my freedom, my life. I will never be able to pay you back. Thank you."

Lavi smiled.

"Please straighten up, one thank you is enough."

Bookman reluctantly followed what he was asked to do.

"You're my friend, it's natural for friends to help, you know" the carrot added, and Allen nodded enthusiastically.

Finally the panda smiled back.

Allen pushed back with his hands from the door and looked at the rest, presenting them his widest grin.

"I guess it's time to go" he said and opened the door to the city of lights.


	4. Nowhere Man

_**I haven't updated for so long, I'm realy sorry :( Finally, I have a new chapter to share with you, though, so let's enjoy it!**_

* * *

_4. Nowhere Man_

Lenalee has been travelling with Allen for over two weeks now and she still couldn't get used to the fact that almost every day meant a totally new world. As an exorcist, she was in many different countries all over the world, but this journey was something far beyond her imagination.

Like, the world they visited a few days before. It was an enormous library, and the library only, and Lenalee could swear she'd never seen so many books in her whole life, let alone in one place. The library was giant and mysterious, fascinating. Lenalee couldn't even tell how old and precious some of the books were or count in how many languages they were written. The place was overwhelming and the girl felt much more respect for Bookman once she learned he actually lived there and kept every single book in his records.

Bookman himself stayed in his home world, while Lavi seemed to decide to accompany Allen and Lenalee in their sought after the ideal prince.

"Sounds like fun," he said simply with a smile and continued to travel with the two. Not that Lenalee minded it; she actually considered the carrot as funny and nice companion and Allen seemed to be happy to have him around too.

From then on, they travelled together.

Lavi didn't need much time to prove that aside from being the life and soul of the party he was 'useful' too. The carrot boy knew all the best places to stay the night and to obtain food for free. He and Allen turned out to be pretty smart and sneaky in that particular matter, after gaining experience from years of satisfying their ravenous hunger.

Lavi seemed to know almost everything about each and every world the three entered, stepping into them confidently and blabbering about them all the time, that's why Lenalee was all the more shocked when one day, after they passed yet another door, the vegetable stepped back with a pale face and mumbled:

"I've never been here before."

Upon hearing this confession Allen and Lenalee stepped into the new world more warily. The sight wasn't welcoming at all. All that Lenalee could see was concrete. There were no buildings, no trees, not even rocks, even the sky seemed to be just blue, not a single cloud around. The world was incredibly empty, even more than the one Road lived in.

Lenalee made a step forward, however, wondering if this world had something more to offer.

The moment she made the step, she heard two frightened voices scream behind her:

"NO!"

She turned, surprised, only to see not only Lavi, but Allen too, clinging to the door with pale faces.

"I already know what world it is," Lavi whispered.

"It's the world every mother warns her children of," Allen nodded.

"Nowhere Land," the duo said together dramatically.

Lenalee looked at them questioningly, but still, didn't step further into the world. Allen and Lavi finally let go of the door and joined her, but were casting worried glances everywhere from time to time.

Lenalee never was one for being cocky, but this time she couldn't help but roll her eyes at their childish behavior.

"It's just like telling children that a witch will catch them if they don't eat," she said. "I can see nothing but concrete here and last time I checked, concrete wasn't scary."

Lavi furrowed his eyebrows, still scanning the area, while Allen turned to the girl and pouted.

"You don't understand," he almost whined like a child, but then turned more serious as he locked his gaze with Lenalee's. "This is Nowhere Land, place that doesn't belong to anybody and still waits for its ruler, still waits to become something more than the omnipresent concrete. Until someone gets interested in this area, it will be guarded by one man, _Nowhere Man_."

Allen stared off into space and continued.

"It's the Nowhere Man that's a problem, not Nowhere Land. He was sent to guard Nowhere Land because he's dangerous and threatened everybody, to the point no society let him stay in their world for too long. That's how he ended up in Nowhere Land, being one creature that everyone fears the most. I don't know how he looks like or how he's able to survive here, all I know is that _we_ won't survive if we meet him."

Lavi nodded at the last statement, but Lenalee only furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Has anyone ever seen him?" she asked, still not too sure of what to think about the story. "I mean, is he really that dangerous? Does he exist at all?"

"Of course he _does_ exist," Lavi replied immediately. "We have him in our records in the library. Besides, the books not only _mention_ the existence of Nowhere Man, but also state that his anti-social and violent nature led him to be put in isolation as the guard of Nowhere Land. Allen's not lying."

Lenalee glanced at the wizard apologetically, feeling stupid for not taking his words seriously and questioning them. Allen didn't seem to be offended or upset though, and only offered her a small smile.

"Well, I guess we'll be alright as long as we don't meet him," he said, but both Lavi and Lenalee could sense that he himself wasn't sure of what he was saying. Still, the girl and the carrot nodded to encourage him and, truthfully, themselves.

An awkward silence fell between them as they didn't move an inch, hesitant to explore the new world. The trio kept exchanging glances, keeping the 'anti-social' and 'violent' image of Nowhere Man in mind.

"Let's go, shall we?" Lavi asked finally, visibly nervous.

The other two nodded just as nervously in response and the three companions set off. The tension was still there, with everybody moving forward cautiously and casting fearful glances everywhere. People fear what they don't know and about Nowhere Man they knew little to nothing, the only thing they were sure of was that he was dangerous.

"We're lucky there's nothing apart from all the concrete," Allen broke the silence after a couple of minutes. "He won't be able to hide anywhere and if unfortunately we'll be close to him, we'll see him from a long distance."

"Idiot," Lavi commented and Allen looked at him questioningly, but it was Lenalee who replied.

"If we're able to see him, he'll be able to see us too."

The wizard's face fell at her words, but then he smiled, seeing her worried expression.

"Even if it's like this, you don't have to worry, Lenalee," he said. "I'll protect you!"

The girl couldn't help but smile at his confident tone and determined face. She felt flattered, even if she highly doubted the childish wizard's ability to stand against the mysterious Nowhere Man.

The mood went up, however, and their trip continued in a less heavy atmosphere, with Lavi even cracking a joke or two.

The scenery was monotonous and constant walk wearisome. An hour seemed like eternity, but luckily, it wasn't enough for the three companions to lose their alertness.

Their attention, however, turned out not to be enough.

They walked in silence, scanning the area, only to feel a big shadow emerge above them. They hardly had time to look up at the danger falling from the sky and, with Lenalee's perfect scream and Allen and Lavi's unmanly squeals, dodge the object that collided with the ground, soon followed by its owner gracefully landing among them.

Their eyes widened at the sight of a rather dangerous sword and they stepped back even further, eyeing fearfully the figure crouching beside it.

The person was all dressed in black and had a cape similar to Allen's. Lenalee could also see a silver breastplate, as if the attacker was some kind of a knight. Due to the stranger's position the trio couldn't see his face, but took notice of his long, jet black hair tied in a ponytail and sliding over his right shoulder, falling to the ground.

Just when they mustered enough courage to just ask who he was, the stranger lifted his head and the trio immediately backed off, meeting the most hateful glare they'd ever seen.

The stranger eyed each of the companions, making them almost tremble with a mere look, his lips pursed in a thin line as he slowly stood up and took his weapon out of the ground, only to aim it at three figures, whose fears didn't let them move at all, as they realized what situation they were in.

They met the infamous Nowhere Man.

Nowhere Man narrowed his eyes and took a step back, pointing his sword from Allen to Lenalee, from Lenalee to Lavi and back to Allen. They all stared at him wide-eyed, unable to utter a word.

"Next time you'd better watch your back. Who are you?" he hissed and, hearing his tone, the three companions lost their last hopes for survival.

No one answered the question, too scared, and that seemed to annoy Nowhere Man even more.

"Who are you?" he repeated, his tone sending a clear message: respond or you'll see what I can do with my weapon.

"W-we were just passing by," Lenalee stuttered after a while, almost inaudibly.

"Haa?" Nowhere Man growled, shifting his sword dangerously close to the girl. "_Just passing by?_ Do you think I'm stupid and will believe you?"

He snorted and his gaze slipped through the trio's faces, his sword still directed at Lenalee.

"You want to rule this land, don't you?" he finally asked, for some reason amused. Soon the three companions found out why. "Everybody who comes here does. In that case, you have to beat me in a duel."

Lenalee and Lavi paled at the mention of the duel, but Allen managed to talk back:

"We don't want to rule this land, we want to cross this land!"

"Tch," was all Nowhere Man said before he took a position to attack, narrowing his eyes. He found it annoying how those three tried to deny the obvious. "Whatever. I won't let you go unless you beat me," he said and added with venom, "and no one so far was able to do so."

The three friends paled even more after hearing Nowhere Man's words. They didn't know what to expect of him. The mere thought of a fight was frightening, wondering what would happen if they lose was even more scary. They didn't know what to do and the mysterious man only added to their worries:

"It's a one on one duel," he said, ready to start at any moment. "Choose your representative."

"Hey, hey, wait!" Lavi shouted suddenly, putting his hands forward. "We don't want to fight! How about changing the duel to a quiz or a password?"

Nowhere Man only rolled his eyes.

"Choose your representative."

Lavi furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the rest helplessly. Three companions exchanged glances, but before anyone could state their opinion, Allen stepped forward.

"I promised to protect you, Lenalee," he said and, as she protested, added, "besides, I'm the only one that can actually obtain a weapon. You two wouldn't be able to fight."

Lavi and Lenalee still wanted to protest, but knew that the wizard was right. They didn't stand a chance against Nowhere Man, Allen, however, could use his magic to create a weapon and at least try to defeat their opponent.

On the other side, Nowhere Man scoffed.

"What, you think I can't protect them?" Allen immediately reacted. The initial fear they felt seeing the legend already subsided and although they were still scared, it wasn't to the point they couldn't do a thing.

"Let's say I'm not a fan of the concept of protecting others," Nowhere Man replied with a shrug and smiled evilly, "that's why I won't let you protect them, _Moyashi_."

The wizard looked at him, annoyed.

"What did you just call me?"

"Moyashi. It was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw your stupid face," Nowhere Man replied in a bored tone. "Now, are we finally going to fight?"

Allen made a sound meant to express his resentful pride.

"For your information, I'm Allen Walker, a wizard, not a moyashi. Now, since we have to have a duel, you should introduce yourself too."

"Kanda Yu," the other said shortly. "Get a sword, wizard."

Allen glared at him. This Kanda Yu person was really irritating. Then wizard glanced quickly at his friends, wondering about an idea that came to his mind.

"We'll fight on one condition," he started, a bit hesitantly. "If I win, you'll not only let us go… but also go with us."

He finally looked directly at Kanda, his voice strong and confident. Nowhere Man furrowed his eyebrows, Lavi and Lenalee stared at their companion in confusion.

"We're travelling around the worlds trying to make my friend's wish come true, since she's a human. If I defeat you, I want you to come with us," Allen continued and added, "_so that you can see why people protect one another._"

His companions looked at Kanda, not sure what kind of answer they wanted to hear. Nowhere Man laughed at Allen, self confident, and got back to his position.

"Whatever, Moyashi."

The wizard didn't respond to that and instead, he took out his magic wand.

"Eins, zwei, drei!" he exclaimed and almost immediately a big, beautiful sword appeared in his left hand.

Allen tucked his wand away and put the sword in his right hand, trying to get used to its weight. He tried to copy Nowhere Man's pose, but for some reason, it didn't look as good, making Kanda snicker.

Allen ignored it and nodded at Lenalee to start the duel.

Lenalee and Lavi stood in some distance from the two and the girl stepped forward for a moment, lifting her arm.

"Ready?" she asked, casting worried glances towards Allen as he and his opponent nodded. Seeing their reaction, Lenalee put her hand down and shouted, "start!"

Before Allen could comprehend the fact that their duel started, Kanda was already launching at him. The wizard jumped aside in the very last moment, making Nowhere Man bury his sword in the ground more than halfway. Allen didn't have time to think about what that said about the power of the attack.

Kanda seemed to have even more in stock, because he easily took the sword out.

"What was that?" Allen squealed, his eyes opened wide. "You cut the concrete!"

Kanda already threw himself forward to attack again.

"This is my one of a kind diamond sword, Moyashi!" he screamed and only at that moment the wizard noticed a dangerously insane glint in his opponent's eyes.

Allen rolled to the side to avoid the cutting edge. Diamond weapon was the last thing he expected and he had to use all his might not to panic. He couldn't block the attacks with his sword, because Nowhere Man could easily cut through it.

In a matter of minutes Lavi and Lenalee realized that the duel boiled down to Kanda attacking and Allen dodging. The wizard was getting tired quickly, but Nowhere Man seemed to have the time of his life. He didn't spare Allen at all, not giving him time to charm out a diamond weapon. It was clear why Nowhere Man was invincible and it wasn't only his special sword. His moves were swift and graceful, but still powerful and long time experience was evident in every attack he brought out.

Allen knew he had to come up with an idea quickly, or else he'd be in a big trouble.

Kanda made a sharp turn to attack again when the wizard saw it. His chance.

He managed to dodge the sword, not without a difficulty, but still was able to use the mere seconds that Nowhere Man needed to launch at him again. They passed each other and before Kanda could grasp the situation, Allen threw his sword to his left hand and used his right one to grab the long ponytail of his opponent.

Kanda's eyes widened and he let out a short, surprised shout as his hair was pulled painfully. Allen mustered up all his remaining strength and a second later Nowhere Man was laying on the ground.

Allen let go of his hair and pointed his sword at him, as Kanda narrowed his eyes at him.

"You have to admit it," Allen stated calmly. "I won, Yu."

"Don't you dare call me that," Nowhere man hissed, but the wizard already threw his sword away and outstretched his hand in order to help Kanda stand up.

Nowhere Man ignored it with a growl and stood up by himself, while Lavi and Lenalee ran up to Allen in case Kanda wanted to pull something off.

Allen, however, kept his hand outstretched and smiled friendly.

"I won't force you to anything," he said, "but please join our group."

Lavi and Lenalee exchanged glances, deciding to trust Allen on that and soon Kanda was surrounded by smiling faces.

"This carrot is Lavi, he's a great and funny companion," the white haired boy introduced. "And this is Lenalee, the human we're helping out. She's looking for love," he added in a theatrical whisper, but Kanda only rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," he replied, looking straight at Allen. "I'm a knight, so I have to keep my word, and starting the fight with you was like agreeing to your condition."

Kanda sighed and looked away, certainly unhappy with the turn of events.

"So, I have to go with you," he mumbled.

Allen's face brightened, while Lavi and Lenalee couldn't help but smile at evident embarrassment on Nowhere Man's face.

"Don't think too much of it," Kanda added quickly in an irritated tone. "No bonding, I'll treat whole this thing as a punishment."

But the wizard already grabbed his arm and marched forward, pulling Kanda with him, instantly forgetting how dangerous the man beside him was.

"Well, Yu, you know where the next door is, right?" Allen asked cheerfully, ignoring Nowhere Man's struggles to get out of his grasp. "Let's hurry there, this world is so boring!"

"So you can leave Nowhere Land like that? I hope you won't get in trouble..." Lenalee said, concerned.

Before Kanda realized it, she and Lavi appeared on his left.

"You know, you're not as scary as you seem to be…" the carrot boy said, deep in thought. Nowhere Man didn't even have time to respond, because Allen cut in.

"But didn't you just say you're a knight, Yu? Is it true? You're a knight?"

The moment he saw three faces shining with excitement turned to him, the word 'knight' being repeated all the time, Kanda Yu decided he regretted attacking the trio.


End file.
